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Live Test Match Blog: England v South Africa

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Almost a whole day's play was lost to rain yesterday but with fair weather expected all day at the Oval today, it's game on as KP looks to win the Fourth Test on his debut as Test captain. Ed "The Hawkeye" Hawkins is here to talk us through the action.

18.00 Eng 0-0 CLOSE
England resume their victory bid tomorrow. Loads of time left in this game. Most importantly, the sun should shine. So join me tomorrow for the conclusion.

17.48 Eng 0-0 RAIN
Bit of rain now, which suggests they may not play again tonight. The skies in west London, where the rain has come from, are blue.

17.22 Eng 0-0 BAD LIGHT STOPPED PLAY
Sensible from England this. Loads of time left in the game. The weather forecast is good for tomorrow. There is no point losing a wicket in the gloom. They could come back tonight because the weather is pretty changeable.

17.17 Eng 0-0
England are underway in their pursuit of 197. Andrew Strauss has struggled for runs this series and Alastair Cook has not convinced so there is a decent chance of an early wicket. Morne Morkel has the new ball. SA need him to find his line and length quickly because, although he is their top wicket-taker, too often he has been wayward.

17.04 SA 318
England need 197 to win. They are [1.28] on the match odds market. Statistically (see 16.28) they should be [1.56] so I guess that makes them a lay, particularly if they lose early wickets. Transversely, if they lost a couple and then drifted to that mark they would be worth backing. Something to chew on.

16.52 313-9
ABCD has fallen. And three short of his century. Bowled by Monty. SA still lead by 191. Draw price to lay is [27.0]. Crazy stuff chaps, crazy stuff.

16.52 313-8
England have finally removed Paul Harris for 34. SA lead by 191.You could have had the [1.56] that we spoke about earlier before the fall of that wicket. The draw is available to lay at around the [14.2] mark at the mo. Remeber as soon as SA are all out that will rocket.

16.38 SA 305-7
If England have to get 200-250, they are a [1.56] chance given the statistics below. They look like conceding 200 at least at the moment with SA in front by 182. If they had to chase 250 or more, the win percentage chance comes to 45 per cent.

16.28 SA 290-7
Some interesting stats below to help with your trading. Looking at the percentage success rates for sides chasing 200 or more and with SA lead by 166 it suggests that at [1.43] England are not quite short enough.
Target success rates in fourth innings in Test history
100 95%
150 81%
200 63%
250 45%

16.19 SA 282-7
Sloppy stuff from England. Four byes and then four down the legside of ABCD's bat gives SA a lead of 160. If I was in the England ca,p I would be feeling a little nervous. Even if Harris was out now, ABCD would be worth 20 runs at least by swinging the bat.

rong>16.05 SA 265-7
Before the tea break I tried to take the [6.40] about SA. Unfortunately my finger wasn't quick enough. You can understand why the price went so quickly when spying that SA are now [5.4]. We're also looking at the draw to lay price which is [14.5]. As soon as SA are bowled out this will shoot out to the 60s. Remember how we discussed this at Edgbaston?

15.44 SA 265-7
SA are the same price [5.9] the ball before Mark Boucher was out. It shows how well ABCD and Paul Harris have done here. The partnership is worth 47. Gosh, if they set England somewhere near 200, there will be a few nerves jangling in the home dressing room. SA lead by 143.

15.25 SA 246-7
What is Pietersen playing at? He has a new ball but only one slip in place for ABCD off James Anderson, an outswing bowler. SA lead by 125. The captain has a raft of slips in place for Harris but he needs to do the same for De Villiers. KP is trying to stop him scoring runs. Negative. He can't score them from the pavilion pal.

15.20 SA 241-7
AB de Villiers has a half-century so Portuguese Pirate asks: "With Boucher looking a little on the chubby side as he's getting on a bit, what are the chances that it will be none other than AB De Villiers who will take over from him behind the stumps when Boucher calls it a day? Or are there any young SA wicket-keepers waiting in the wings that we should know about?" Well, PP there is a chap called Wendell Bossenger (who else?) who topped the dismissals chart in first-class cricket last season. But he is 31. A couple of names further down is 29-year-old Morne van Wyk, the Eagles keeper, and he is considered Boucher's understudy. He has played ODIs for SA. I'm not quite sure why they need to bother with van Wyk, however, when ABCD could do the job. They would be a very strong side with him batting at No. 7. New ball available for Engalnd.

15.00 SA 218-7
Having just talked up Morkel, it was inevitable that he would then be dismissed. Caught at short leg off Panesar. An interesting one, though. Twice before Panesar had got Morkel in this series, bowling him through the gate. So this time Morkel looked to play with bat and pad together, which of course increases the chance of a bat-pad catch. So it proved.

14.44 SA 215-6
Morne Morkel has 'Hirsch's' written on the back of his bat. So I did some research on google to see what it was. 'Your one-stop South African Home Appliance Superstore. Best Brands, Biggest Range, Guaranteed!' Indeed. He has just thrown the kitchen sink at an Anderson delivery. Four. England need to be careful here. They are gifting runs to de Villiers so to have a pop at Morkel but he is looking pretty tasty. SA lead by 93.

14.35 SA 201-6
Mark Boucher has gone, top edging to point from a James Anderson lifter. Anderson and Panesar switched ends with Pietersen bowling an over inbetween. The theory was that the breeze across the ground would help Anderson and it has worked. But before we get carried away by praising KP for a tactical change, it looked like it was the idea of Andrew Strauss, who was in lengthy discussions with his captain before the switch. England should win this match today with More Morkel in and only Harris, Nel and Ntini to come.

14.22 SA 195-5
England have looked a little flat after the break. Perhaps they are looking ahead to the spark that the new ball will provide in only 15 overs. Monty is having another go now but there is little turn. England won't mind that too much because they will be aware that it is spinners who have been so crucial in ensuring sides struggle batting last at this venue. Having said that, Paul Harris can barely be described as a spinner.

14.00 SA 176-5
Much rests on the shoulders of Mark Boucher and AB de Villiers for the visitors. And there is some hope for them with a lead of 53. The average bowled out score in the fourth innings for the last five Tests at The Oval when a team has been knocked over is 187. So a partnership of 100 here could give SA a squeak. Indeed of the last five chases of more than 110, only one has been successful. That was the 205 England reached to beat SA by eight wickets in 1994.

13.48 SA 170-5
It's a good day to be British it seems. England are winning the Test match and we have our first Gold in the Olympics. Nicole Cooke has triumphed in the women's cycling road race. Tremendous stuff. Oh, and before you email claiming that England do not represent GB, think again. Robert Croft was Welsh and Gavin Hamilton was a Scot. They both played for England. So there.

13.00 SA 168-5
England's session. Only 58 runs conceded and three wickets taken. They are one wicket away from the bowlers, although Mark Boucher and AB de Villiers have the ability to frustrate. SA are 46 runs ahead. We'll have a look at fourth innings total to win on this ground after the break to see what SA need to set to have any hope.

12.48 SA 161-5
Flintoff does Prince for pace and bounce. He's flashed at a wide one and Strauss has held on at slip. England looking very good for a win today, let alone tomorrow. They are [1.11] now.

12.44 SA 161-4
Monty's on for his first over of the day. His potential effectiveness has rather been dampened - literally - by yesterday's rain. Spinners need dry and dusty surfaces to operate at their best and this Oval pitch could not be described as such. A little bit of rutn for him but not the spit and bite that we saw at Edgbaston. SA lead by 39.

12.24 SA 150-4
Steve Harmison's performance in this match shows how important it is to have a bowler who can bowl at 90mph-plus and hit awkward lengths. With him in the side instead of Ryan Sidebottom, who would be wobbling in bowling gentle swingers, they are a far more potent outfit. Indeed, this is the sort of bowling line-up England need if they are to win Tests abroad - they have won only one of their last 17 - on placid pitches similar to this one at The Oval. England have two Tests in India in December and Harmison is sure to be involved. The problem is, the Tests are preceded by seven one-day matches which Harmison will not play in. So how can Harmison hope to begin that series fit and in form? Email me at hawkeyeview@hotmail.co.uk

12.03 SA 138-4
They say you need luck to be a good captain. And Kevin Pietersen certainly seems to be a fortunate so-and-so. He dropped a simple chance offered by Jacques Kallis off Steve Harmison, who is bowling a hostile spell. But it didn't matter. The very next ball Kallis edged the same bowler to Collingwood at slip. KP's relief was there for all to see.

11.18 SA 122-3
Scores level as James Anderson finds his range. He is mixing the odd inswinger in with outswingers. England bowling better than they yesterday morning.

11.11 SA 119-3
Excellent catch from Tim Ambrose to remove Hashim Amla from Steve Harmison's delivery. He dived low to his right and clung on. You will be even more impressed when I tell you that Ambrose is keeping with a broken finger. England's price has come down to [1.64] from [1.90]. The draw is out to [6.00].

11.06 SA 114-2
I'm a little bit surprised by the field Kevin Pietersen has set for James Anderson bowling to Hashim Amla. KP seems to have forgotten that Amla is starting his innings again. His 72 not out is an irrelevance because he has been sat in the pavilion for a day. There are two slips and a deep point, which is a negative field. Surely he should move the point to slip, thus encouraging Amla to play wide because of the very gap he has just created. Email me at hawkeyeview@ hotmail.co.uk

11.00 SA 110-1
Morning all. The good news is that The Oval looks a picture. The sun is out, the outfield is dry and there is no sign of rain. England need quick wickets because SA are closing in on their lead - the deficit is just 12. But both batsmen, Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis, will be starting afresh so there is a good chance of wickets. Amazingly, the draw price is [4.90] to lay. Remember last night when it was [3.20]? If we had taken that price we could back for a profit now. Irritating.

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